Review and Herald, Vol. 92, No. 20.
GROUP OF WORKERS AT NAZARETH MISSION STATION, SOUTH INDIAPage 1
Earlier text: GROUP OF WORKERS AT NAZARETH MISSION STATION, SOUTH INDIAThe Schools of the Prophets
By M. E. CADY
The first mention of the schools of the prophets is where the freshly anointed Saul, after leaving Samuel, met a company of the sons of the prophets coming down from the high place with a psaltery, a tabret, a pipe, and a harp, playing, singing, and prophesying. When Saul met this company of students, “the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them.” 1 Sam. 10: 5-10. The schools of the prophets from time to time sent out students in companies, or bands, to instruct and help the people, and probably this was one of these missionary bands that Saul met as it was starting out on its mission of service. After gaining an experience and education that would qualify for efficient service, these youth were appointed as teachers and counselors, and went from city to city, instructing the people. This educational extension work was done during the reign of King Jehoshaphat, and its good results are spoken of in 2 Chron. 17: 7-10. When Israel failed to provide these teachers and counselors, great loss and perplexity came to the nations. 2 Chron. 15: 1-6. Sacred music was one of the four principal subjects taught in these schools; for it, along with a knowledge of Sacred Scriptures, sacred history, and sacred poetry, was considered indispensable as a means of uplifting and elevating the morals of the people. “Music was made to serve a holy purpose, to lift the thoughts to that which is pure, noble, and elevating, and to awaken in the soul devotion and gratitude to God. What a contrast between the ancient custom and the uses to which music is now too often devoted!” “Sanctified intellects brought forth from the treasure house of God things new and old, and the Spirit of God was manifested in prophecy and sacred song.”—“Patriarchs and Prophets,” page 594. The thoroughness and efficiency of the sacred music course is best attested to by considering one or two graduates from the course. David, whom we have already found to have been a great poet, evidenced superior ability as an instrumentalist when only a young man. His reputation as a skillful, soulful player of the harp reached the royal courts, and he was secured to play in the presence of Saul when the evil spirit was upon him. The influence and power of the melodies produced upon an instrument of ten strings were so overpowering that the evil spirit could not remain in the presence of this master musician. Much of the playing on instruments today has the contrary effect, and invites the presence of the evil spirit. Not only was the spiritual element of music emphasized, but also the technical; for David instructed the orchestra “to play skillfully with a loud noise.” Ps. 33:3.6 But David’s playing appealed to the heart, and through his instrument he could utter what words could not express. “I will open my dark saying upon the harp.” Ps. 49: 4. David was not only a great instrumentalist, but a great vocalist—the “sweet psalmist of Israel.” 2 Sam. 23: 1. It was David who arranged the various orders of musicians and singers for the temple service. “David spake to the chief of the Levites to appoint their brethren to be the singers with instruments of music, psalteries and harps and cymbals, sounding, by lifting up the voice with joy. . . . So the singers, Heman, Asaph, and Ethan, were appointed to sound with cymbals of brass; and Zechariah, and Aziel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Unni, and Eliah, and Maaseiah, and Benaiah, with psalteries on Alamoth; and Mattithiah, and Ellipheleh, and Mikneiah, and Obed-edom, and Jeiel, and Azaziah, with harps on the Sheminith to excel. And Chenaniah, chief of the Levites, was for song: he instructed about the song, because he was skillful. . . . And David was clothed with a robe of fine linen, and all the Levites that bare the ark, and the singers, and Chenaniah the master of song with the singers.” 1 Chron. 15: 16-27. Speaking of the choir and orchestra composed of Levites, David says, “Four thousand praised the Lord with the instruments which I made, . . . to praise therewith.” 1 Chron. 23: 5. Of this number 288 were leaders and instructors in music. “So the number of them, with their brethren that were instructed in the songs of the Lord, even all that were cunning, was two hundred fourscore and eight.” 1 Chron. 25: 7. The scriptures already cited plainly indicate that David placed a great deal of emphasis on music as a feature of religious worship. He made musical instruments and played upon them skillfully. He composed words and sang them. The instrument and the voice were dedicated to God. While David was a great musician, Solomon, his son, was, perhaps, even greater. He composed 1,005 songs. The music rendered at the time of the dedication of the temple by Solomon has probably never been equaled. At least no choral assembly and orchestra has ever been accorded such divine recognition and honor; for “it came even to pass, as the trumpets and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the Lord, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth forever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the Lord; so that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of God.” 2 Chron. 5: 13, 14. Solomon, speaking of his interest in music, says: “I gat me men singers and women singers, and the delights of the sons of men, as musical instruments, and that of all sorts.” Eccl. 2: 8. The musical instruments used in Solomon’s temple may be classified as follows:— Wind Instruments |
|
|---|
| Organ |
Ugab |
| Flute |
Holel |
| Cornet |
Chatzotzerah |
| Trumpet |
Shophar |
| Horn |
Keren |
Percussion Instruments |
|
|---|
| Cymbal |
M’tsil-tayim |
| Drum |
Toph |
| Timbrel |
Tziltzelim |
| Sistra |
Mena’an’im |
| Sistrum |
Shalish |
| Bell |
Pahamon |
Stringed Instruments |
|
|---|
| Psaltery |
Nebel |
| Viol |
Kinnor |
| Harp |
Nebel ’asor |
The following are some of the instruments of whose nature scholars are not certain:— Neginoth—probably some stringed instrument. Psalms 4, 6, etc. Nehiloth—probably wind instrument. Psalm 5. We have in the Bible a number of different terms or names applied to the songs that were sung. Below we give the names of the songs, with a short description of each class:— Shir—a song in general, adapted to the voice. Mismor—a song accompanied by music. Neginoh—a melody expressly adapted for stringed instruments. Mascil—a lyric requiring nice musical skill. Michtom—mysterious or precious song. Shiggayon—an irregular song, or a song with variations and changes; a ballad. Tehillah—a hymn of praise. Kinah—a dirge or funeral song. Shir-yediduth—a love song—Song of Solomon. Chedoh—an enigma, a riddle, a dark saying. The careful application of these terms to various musical compositions shows that the ancient Hebrews were very versatile in their poetical and musical genius. This is evident from the fact that every psalm is described by a term which distinguishes it from every other psalm. The course in sacred music in the schools of the prophets must have included a mastery of at least one instrument, and a thorough training of the voice. It also included a knowledge of musical composition for both the voice and the various musical instruments. We must conclude that the sacred music course was thorough, practical, and comprehensive. These schools must have led out in all lines of advancement, developing men that were wise and intelligent leaders and educators in the nation. “These schools proved to be one of the means most effective in promoting that righteousness which ‘exalteth a nation.’ In no small degree they aided in laying the foundation of that marvelous prosperity which distinguished the reigns of David and Solomon. The principles taught in the schools of the prophets were the same that molded David’s character and shaped his life. . . . In the early life of Solomon also are seen the results of God’s method of education.”—“Education,” pages 47, 48. One writer has said that it is the music of a nation that measures its standing in the grade of human civilization. What would our psalmody today be without the psalms of Israel’s “sweet singer”? The psalms of David, without the music he set to them, are music still; and rendered with modern musical composition, they excel anything in modern psalmody. The music of ancient Israel was not copied nor borrowed from the nations about them. It was an expression of the individual and national life of the chosen people of God. Their songs, both the words and the music, were composed to memorialize great events. Examples of this kind are the Song of the Red Sea, Song of Deborah, etc. David felt so grateful for the successful transfer of the ark from the house of Obed-edom to Jerusalem that he wrote the words and music of a song, giving expression of his gratitude to God. He placed it in the hands of Asaph to be rendered by the choir and orchestra. “Then on that day David delivered first this psalm to thank the Lord into the hand of Asaph and his brethren.” 1 Chron. 16: 7. Several of the psalms David composed express his gratitude for personal deliverances from the hands of his enemies. Examples: Psalms 34, 52, 56, 59. One proof that the Hebrews produced a musical literature of their own, not copying or borrowing from the surrounding nations, was their refusal to sing their songs in the land of their captivity. “By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion. We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof. For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion. How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?” Ps. 137: 1-4. But the Lord, through the “weeping prophet,” gave Israel another and the last song which they sang, even in a “strange land.” This was a funeral song—the song of Lamentations. Their former glory never returned, and their “swan song” proved to be the funeral dirge of what was once a mighty and glorious nation. In learning and in piety, Israel reached greater heights than any nation of her time; and this was largely due to the character of her schools. The Sower and the Coming of the Kingdom
By C. M. S.
Is the world to be converted before the coming of Christ to fulfill his promise to his faithful people? A great many believe that it will be; but he who would know the truth, without regard to what he himself might desire, will inquire closely into the teachings of the Master upon this point. It matters not how much we should like to see the whole world converted to God at the time of our Lord’s return, the strongest possible desire will not change the fact one way or the other. Let us ask him; he knows, and he has given instruction sufficient to make it possible for us to know. Let us examine the parable of the sower. It is given by our Lord himself, and pertains to the upbuilding of his kingdom in the world. It is interpreted by our Lord himself, and that interpretation is therefore unassailable. According to this parable, the seed falls upon four different kinds of ground, with four different results. Three of those results are disappointing; only one is satisfying. While it is not likely that this was intended by our Saviour to indicate the exact proportion of returns from the sowing of gospel seed, it does indicate that they who reject the gospel message are far more numerous than they who accept it. Some of the seed falls by the wayside, and before the kernels of grain have time to take root, they are snatched up by the fowls. Some falls upon stony ground, sprouts quickly, and perishes quickly for lack of proper rootage. Some falls among other growths, is choked out, and never comes to maturity. Some falls upon good soil, well prepared to receive it, and brings forth abundant increase. That which fell by the wayside was snatched up, destroyed. Our Saviour in giving his own interpretation of the parable, says: “When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the evil one, and snatcheth away that which hath been sown in his heart. This is he that was sown by the wayside.” Matt. 13: 19. The one sown by the wayside became meat for the evil one. The one “sown upon the rocky places” endured for a while, but went down under the fires of persecution. The one “sown among the thorns” succumbed to the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches. The period of that sowing represents the entire gospel dispensation, and the number who reject the gospel invitation will always be greater than the number who accept and remain steadfast. There is no indication in the parable of a time coming when the seed would fall only upon good soil, well prepared, where no adverse conditions would be found, and only a satisfactory yield result. On the other hand, the Scriptures indicate very clearly that as we draw nearer to the end, the conditions will be more forbidding, and the good yield proportionately less. The Saviour’s question, “When the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” is a very clear indication that the proportion of the wayside sowing would be greater, the stony ground and the thorn-infested soil more plentiful, when the last of the sowing is being done. The Saviour reenforced this thought with a parable of the “man that sowed good seed in his field,” and his “enemy came and sowed tares also among the wheat, and went away.” Matt. 13: 24-30. His servants desired to uproot the tares as soon as their blades began to appear; but the owner of the field refused, and said: “Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather up first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn.” How long are the tares to be in the world?—“Until the harvest.” What is the harvest?—“The harvest is the end of the world;” for thus the Lord himself declared when explaining this parable to his disciples: “He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; and the field is the world; and the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one; and the enemy that sowed them is the devil: and the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are angels. As therefore the tares are gathered up and burned with fire; so shall it be in the end of the world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that cause stumbling, and them that do iniquity, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” Matt. 13: 37-43. The tares and the wheat grow together until the end of the dispensation; until the time of the declaration of final awards, until that time when the fiat of the Almighty goes forth:—“He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.” Rev. 22: 11, 12. These parables and this mandate of the great Judge all show that the wicked are in this world, alive and perniciously active, until the last stroke of gospel work has been done. The tares and the wheat grow together until the harvest—the end of the world. The tares are not then given a second chance, to see if they will transform themselves into wheat; but they are bound in bundles to be burned. The close of this dispensation does not usher in a glorious millennium of peace and instruction and successful evangelical endeavor. Instead, those who are then unreconciled, unprepared to meet their God, are cast into “the furnace of fire: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.” Other scriptures are in harmony with this. Of the closing days of the gospel dispensation we read: “But evil men and imposters shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.” 2 Tim. 3: 13. How do we know he is speaking of the last days? The first verses of the chapter read: “But know this, that in the last days grievous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, haughty, railers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, implacable, slanderers, without self-control, fierce, no lovers of good, traitors, headstrong, puffed up, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God; holding a form of godliness, but having denied the power thereof.” 2 Tim. 3: 1-5. Another declaration of our Saviour voices the same thought: “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the8 whole world for a testimony unto all the nations; and then shall the end come.” Matt. 24:14. Some would wish it to read, “and then shall the millennium of peace and sinlessness be ushered in;” but the text does not read so, and the teachings of our Saviour hold out no such hope. He who builds upon such a hope builds upon sand, and is destined to most bitter disappointment. But we need not be thus disappointed. The Scripture is plain; the parables of our Lord, interpreted by himself, leave no occasion for uncertainty in this matter. The end of the sowing and of the dispensation draws nigh, and happy will he be whose faith is founded upon the Rock of truth. The Bible the Living Word
By W. A. S.
Synopsis of Present Truth — No. 2
The Bible the Living Word
The Word Our Safety and Defense
WHEN Christ came to live as our example in the flesh, and to give his life a sacrifice for sin, he, the divine Son of God, made himself like unto his brethren. “I can of mine own self do nothing,” he said. John 5:30. Tempted and tried, he found his defense in the Holy Scriptures. When Satan came to tempt him to sin, the Saviour said, “It is written.” He clung to the sure defense. Again the tempter came. He was met with the word, “It is written again.” The third time it was the same weapon of defense, “It is written.” Matt. 4: 1-11. Christ found safety only in the Scriptures of Truth. So the Bible is the Christian’s shield against the enemy’s attacks. As Jesus studied the Scriptures and kept the words ever in his heart, for a defense against temptation, so must every Christian study and meditate upon God’s Holy Word if its counsels and precepts are to be the defense in the moment of sudden temptation to sin. “Thy word have I hid in mine heart,” said the psalmist, “that I might not sin against thee.” Ps. 119: 11. It was the only way for Christ, our Pattern; it is the only way for us. The Word of God is the daily food for the soul. “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” Matt. 4: 4. Who has not, in hurried times, missed a meal, working on through the day, never thinking of the prolonged fast? But after a time there came a sense of weakening force, a lack of physical power. What was the trouble? At once the reason was evident, he had not taken food, and the system was calling for a renewal of its forces. Just so the spiritual life must needs be fed by the Word of God. Do we at times find a sense of a weakening of the spiritual power, a letting down of the vital forces of the soul? Ah, in the hurry of life we have neglected to feed upon the living bread. We can no more sustain spiritual vigor and health without feeding daily upon God’s Holy Word than we can maintain physical power without eating our daily bread. Eat of the life-giving Word. The taste for it grows with the partaking. There is life in “every word.” The psalmist found the Lord’s testimonies “sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb,” or, as the marginal reading has it, than “the dropping of honeycombs.” Ps. 19: 10. We get the picture of the honeycomb inverted, the cell caps broken open, the sweetness of the honey dripping down. Just so every word of the Lord is a cell, full of sweetness and life for the soul that feasts upon the Holy Scriptures. The Source of All Doctrine
The Bible is the complete and perfect rule of faith and doctrine. Here every doctrine of salvation is found. Inspiration has declared it in the words of the apostle Paul to Timothy:— “From a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.” 2 Tim. 3: 15-17. The divine command is, “Study.” For every generation there has been a message borne by this living Word, making call to reformation of life, or giving warning and comfort. “The Bible is not a collection of truths formulated in propositions,” said Dr. Samuel Harris, of Yale, “but God’s majestic march through history, redeeming men from sin.” In every age God has been ruling and overruling, witnessing by his Spirit through the living Word. The experiences recorded of past ages have their special lesson for the present:— “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.” Rom. 15: 4. “Let vs therefore all with feruent desire,” as the Old English of 1549 spelled the exhortation of Erasmus, “thyrste after these spirituall sprynges, . . . Let vs kisse these swete wordes of Christ with a pure affection. Let vs be newe transformed into them, for soche are oure maners as oure studies be.” It speaks in every tongue to the human heart. Its power to transform has been shown through all the centuries in every clime and among every race. One of the Gospels was put into the Chiluba tongue of Central Africa. After a time a Garenganze chief came to Dan Crawford, the missionary, changed from the spirit of a fierce, wicked barbarian to that of a teachable child. Explaining his conversion, the chief said:— I was startled to find that Christ could speak Chiluba. I heard him speak to me out of the printed page, and what he said was, “Follow me!” Of the Bible’s universal speech to all mankind, Dr. Henry van Dyke has said:— Born in the East, and clothed in Oriental form and imagery, the Bible walks the ways of all the world with familiar feet, and enters land after land to find its own everywhere. It has learned to speak in hundreds of languages to the heart of man. It comes into the palace to tell the monarch that he is the servant of the Most High, and into the cottage to assure the peasant that he is the son of God. Children listen to its stories with wonder and delight, and wise men ponder them as parables of life. It has a word of peace for the time of peril, a word of comfort for the day of calamity, a word of light for the hour of darkness. Its oracles are repeated in the assembly of the people, and its counsels whispered in the ear of the lonely. The wise and the proud tremble at its warnings, but to the wounded and penitent it has a mother’s voice. . . . Its great words grow richer, as pearls do when they are worn near the heart. No man is poor or desolate who has this treasure for his own. When the landscape darkens and the trembling pilgrim comes to the valley named the shadow, he is not afraid to enter; he takes the rod and staff of Scripture in his hand; he says to friend and comrade, “Good-by, we shall meet again,” and comforted by that support, he goes toward the lonely pass as one who climbs through darkness into light.—Century Magazine. All the Bible bears witness of him as the Saviour of the world. Christ himself said of the Scriptures, “They are they which testify of me.” John 5: 39. “To him bare all the prophets witness.” We see him as the coming Messiah in promise and prophecy, in type and shadow. His is the divine, living personality standing out in every book that makes up the Sacred Volume. As we read with loving heart, the author seems near in every page:— “Reading, methinks I bend
Before the cross
Where died my King, my Friend.
The whole world’s loss
For love of him is gain.” And having beheld him giving his life as the divine sacrifice, and rising in triumph over death to be our great High9 Priest in the heavenly temple, as we read these Sacred Scriptures yet again, in every book, from Genesis to Revelation, we see him as the coming King of kings, coming to take his children to the eternal home of the saved. The whole Book is a bright window through which we gaze on coming glory. “And yet again I stand
Where the seer stood,
Gazing across the strand,
Beyond the flood:
The gates of pearl afar,
The streets of gold,
The Bright and Morning Star
Mine eyes behold.” And the word of God “liveth and abideth forever.” “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” Matt. 24: 35. W. A. S. A Separate People—No. 2
By F. M. W.
The Lord through his prophet declares of his church, “Lo, the people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations.” He designed that his church should be a separate people, and that they should do a distinctive work. Directly and indirectly Satan has sought to corrupt the church and divert it from the work it was commissioned to do. He has sought to do this directly through corrupting worldly influences which lead to positive sin. Against these influences the Scriptures of Truth repeatedly warn. Our Saviour earnestly petitions the Father:— “I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” John 17: 15-17. The apostle John bears this warning:— “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.” 1 John 2: 15-17. Indirectly the enemy of all righteousness has sought to corrupt the church by leading it to compromise its position in forming affiliations with the world. The evil has not at first been apparent, but the fruits of these affiliations, when persisted in, have proved to be apostasy and separation from God. Against such association the apostle Paul utters a direct warning in the following words:— “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.” 2 Cor. 6: 14-18. In this counsel is emphasized the idea of complete separation. The people of God must live in the world till the coming of the Deliverer, but they are not to be of the world; they are not to imbibe its spirit nor follow its practices. They are to stand among their fellows as separate and distinct in purpose and in character. Says the apostle Peter, “Ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people.” In what particulars are the peculiarities of the children of God to be made manifest? “That ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” The apostle Paul bears the same testimony in Titus 2: 11-14:— “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.” With the plans and purposes, the pursuits and pleasures, of this world the children of God have nothing in common. They cannot consistently unite with the careless throng at the race track or in the theater, in the dancing hall or at the billiard table. In dress, in conversation, and in general deportment they must show that their affections are set on the things of God and not on the riches and pleasures of this world. To their fellows they have been made the ambassadors of the King of heaven, and in their lives they are to represent the principles of the divine government. In their labors for God they can know no man after the flesh. Their mission is to the people of every kindred and nation, of every color and social state. They recognize that “God is no respecter of persons: but in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.” The world is divided into classes. Political, social, and religious distinctions are observed. These distinctions cannot be regarded by the ambassadors of the Lord Jesus Christ. Men of every class are afflicted with the same disease—sin. The heralds of the cross are to carry to them the one universal remedy — salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ. The people represented in this movement have been called into existence to do a specific work for this day and generation,—a work which no other religious body is attempting or professing to do. There is due the world today a message of warning pertaining to those things which are soon to come upon the earth. This message is designed as a message of salvation. It warns against the evils and the errors which are threatening the very existence of vital godliness. It calls the inhabitants of the earth to forsake the worship of man for the worship of God; to break from the thralldom of sin and accept the liberty that there is in Christ Jesus. It warns against the worship of the beast and his image and against the reception of his mark, against the great combinations of evil which will be formed in antagonism to the truth of God in the last days; and it develops a people who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. Rev. 14: 6-12. To no other church, to no other organization, patriotic or political, has the giving of this message been committed. It is the distinctive work of the people connected with this movement. Seventh-day Adventists have been called into existence for the very purpose of sounding this warning. They must not in any way compromise their position or lower the standard which they have been set to maintain. They cannot give the message from motives of patriotism or expediency. They bear a gospel of love, not of hate; of salvation, not of condemnation; of good will, not of class hatred or distinction. They are to seek to save their fellows of every class and persuasion. Jew and Gentile, Protestant and Catholic, heathen and Mohammedan. In this work of soul-saving they must keep so free from class and party spirit that their message will go unclouded and unencumbered, free and untrammeled, carrying the spirit of love and good will to all men. Their power in the proclamation of this message will be in direct proportion as they keep out of their lives every corrupting worldly influence, and in proportion as the movement itself maintains its high and holy character distinct and separate from every worldly affiliation. The Power of Words
By G. B. Thompson
THE gift of speech is one of the greatest gifts of the Creator to man. Used as God designed it should be, its influence for good can never be told until the books are opened at the last great day, and the records of time are complete. Words are indeed of fearful import.10 This is emphasized in the words of Jesus when he said, “But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.” Matt. 12:36, 37. Words can never be recalled. Though the lips that spoke them may have been silent for long years in the tomb, they go on, scattering blessing, dispelling clouds, or darkening the lives of others in whose memory they may linger. A returned missionary stands before a strange congregation and tells the story of his toil in preaching the gospel in a foreign tongue in a far-distant land. With deep and imploring earnestness he calls for others to enlist in the sacred cause and carry the banner of the cross through every land. An unknown youth listens from the gallery, and the words of the preacher become as a fire in his throbbing heart. He goes to his home, resumes the round of daily life just as he lived before. But those burning words are still in his heart. They are remembered in his hours of toil and recreation; they haunt him in solitude; they come to him like messengers from another world in the dreams of the night. And when years have passed on, and the missionary has gone back to his field and finished his work, and his ashes are resting beneath the shadow of the palm or beside the moaning sea, there is another voice, loud and clear and strong, fired with the ardor of young manhood, taking up and carrying on the message which he began; and all its utterance and power have come from those few words dropped into the ear of an unknown youth in a strange congregation, when the speaker knew not that any listened or regarded. Man is so fearfully and wonderfully made that a tone, a look, a breath, may determine the course of conduct for a lifetime and the destiny of a soul for eternity. It takes only a very slight influence to make a lasting impression upon so sensitive a thing as a human heart. The little bird that walked upon the plastic clay of the river bank uncounted ages ago, left a track which may be seen today in the solid stone. . . . So the tongue may scatter words as freely as leaves fall in autumn, or birds sport on the river bank, but all the while the words spoken are making impressions upon souls that shall outlive all time,—impressions which will remain to be read when the hills have melted like wax and the earth is burned in the final flame. The good words of truth live and give life to the world. They may be shut up in prison, but no fetters can bind them. They may be cast into the fire, but the truth cannot be burned. They may be thrown overboard into the depths of the sea, but the truth cannot be drowned. They may be persecuted and driven into exile, but even there they will acquire new life and make the desert blossom as the rose. It would be easier to stop the current of the mighty river, or to hush the fury of the wildest storm, than stop the course or quench the life of the good words which any earnest, truth-speaking man has sent forth into the world. If you would throw your influence into the stream which carries blessing wherever it flows, if you would ally yourself with the divine power which is renewing and redeeming the nations, if you would unbar the prisons of despair and open the gates of life to immortal souls, you have only to speak good words. We should guard well the words which fall from our lips, and ever pray for wisdom that we by kindly words may minister grace to those about us.